I could start off this post by launching into the very debatable topic of originality — in art, writing, music, film, et. al. — and whether or not anything is ever really a bona fide “first,” but I won’t. That’s more like a dissertation topic than it is a blog post. I will only say that, personally, I find some of the most innovative ideas are those that overtly take other concepts and build upon them to create something new. I will also say that some of the best examples of this are found in music, and that I’ve always enjoyed Kanye West and Jay-Z mainly for this reason.

Jay-Z and West are fantastic collaborators, both with each other and with others. West’s recent “All of the Lights” which featured Rihanna, Elton John, and Kid Cudi comes to mind here, as does his collaboration with Bon Iver on “Lost in the World.” West is of course following in the footsteps of his mentor Jay-Z, who has collaborated with artists spanning across several genres; some of my favorites include “Lost!” with Coldplay, “Numb/Encore” with Linkin Park, and the summer anthem of 2010, “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys.

Now the masters of collaboration are once again, well, collaborating, and the first single is enough to get me excited for their upcoming LP Watch the Throne. While I enjoyed their last joint effort, “H*A*M,” their new track “Otis” is more laid back with a nice sampling of Otis Redding on loop in the background.

I won’t try and pull in anything political here, despite there being some allusions to immigration in “Otis,” I don’t want to ruin a good thing here and read more into the song than is necessary. To read the lyrics and more about Jay, Ye and Otis you can visit Stereogum.

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